Texas Securities Fraud: Ex-Dallas Football Player Charged with Alleged Involvement in $24 Million Investment Scheme

Earlier this month, in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, ex-Dallas Cowboys football player Michael Kiselak and three other defendants were charge for their alleged involvement in a $24 million investment fraud scheme. The US Securities and Exchange Commission is suing the defendants, which include Kiselak, who is now a money manager, his Texas-based investment firm Kiselak Capital Group LLC, Jeffrey Sykes, and Gemstar Capital Group Inc, a venture capital company.

According to the SEC, Kiselak, acting on behalf of KCG, obtained about $24 million from 14 investors. However, the SEC says that the former professional football player misrepresented the way the funds would be invested, promised inflated returns, and failed to tell investors that his company would receive a 35% performance fees on any profits from trades. The SEC is also accusing Kiselak of telling investors that his company made a 2.25% month profit trading Treasury bills when he actually invested more than 90% of their funds in Gemstar.

KCG reportedly gave the SEC a brokerage statement showing that as of the end of March 2009, Gemstar had more than $23 million in segregated accounts that it was holding for KCG. The SEC contends, however, that the actual amount was closer to $20 million, and the funds had not been segregated to benefit KCG’s investors. The SEC now says that as of May 9, the amount in the account is about $19 million. As of May 12, KCG reportedly could not account for approximately $7 million of the investors’ funds.

The SEC is seeking permanent injunctions, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, prejudgment interest, civil money penalties, and the appointment of a receiver to take charge of both firms’ assets. Judge John McBryde has frozen the defendants’ assets and granted a temporary restraining order.

Now a registered broker, Kiselak was a Dallas Cowboys football player from 1998 to 2000.